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Sunday, September 25, 2011

Jalapeno Hot Sauce - or What to do with a Pound of Ripe Jalapenos

Yesterday I picked about 75 ripe jalapeno and cherry bomb peppers. There is no way I'm going to be able to use all those peppers fresh, and since I use hot sauce very regularly, I decided to make my own.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 – 1.5 lbs (about 60-70) fresh ripe jalapeno peppers, sliced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup minced onion

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 cups water

2 cups distilled white vinegar

Directions:

Prepare 1/2 pint canning jars per manufacturer's instructions.

Slice the peppers - wear gloves if desired.

In a non-reactive sauce pan over high heat, combine oil, peppers, garlic, onion and salt; saute for 5 minutes. Add the water and cook for 20 minutes, stirring often. You may wish to do this outdoors! Whew!

Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool to room temperature.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth.

Strain liquid through a sieve into a clean saucepan, discarding solids. It's a pretty color!

Whisk in vinegar.

Return to a boil. Turn off heat.

Ladle hot sauce into a sterilized jars and adjust two piece lids. Process in hot water bath 15 minutes.

Since these are 8oz jars, when ready to use, I'll decant into a squeeze bottle to keep in the fridge.

Alternatively, skip the hot water bath and store in refrigerator up to 4 months.

Becky, It is interesting - it's not fully mellowed yet - I'm going to give it a month, but the initial tasting shows definite fruitiness. I will be making wings with it, just need to add the butter!

Mark it is not so impressive and I do give some away as gifts. I'd like to expand it. I just hate to grow something and then not utilize it. As I don't yet have a large freezer, this is the best way I know to preserve it.